I'm a Little Slow

This is a birthday post for my grandson, Jacob, who turned a year-old, on December 29th. I finally had time to download the pictures, then I'm having issues with Blogger not posting in the order I wanted.

Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Cousin Addie and Jacob on Christmas Day.

Jacob and me at the county fair in August.


Jacob and Tori.
I just loved his spikey hair when he was little.

Birthday boy.

Birthday Wishes To Heidi

She was the first born, our little "pineapple" born when we lived on Oahu, Hawaii. We were half-way around the world, and thousands of miles from her Grandmas and Grandpas and Aunts and Uncles, from family; but she was a beautiful baby, our first baby. I wanted to name her Leilani, which is a form of the word lei, which is the flower wreaths the Hawaiians place around visitors necks to welcome them to the islands. I couldn't believe how gorgeous those flowers were. I wanted to name her after them, but her father had other ideas, and so she was named Heidi Marie Vrbas. The Marie is for Jerry's mom, sister and grandmother, who were all Marys, of one sort or another. He was probably right, the name would have seemed weird when we were back on the mainland. (Shh! Don't tell him I admitted that!) Now that you know where she was born, is it any wonder she and I can eat a whole pineapple ourselves?!

Happy Birthday, Heidi!

This LIfts Me Up

I found this months ago in something I read. I keep it in my desk, and I get it out often and read it. The love and acceptance of my Heavenly Father really speaks to me in my heart. It gives me hope that as I lean on God, He is taking all the pieces of my heart and life and making something really special of it. I hope it speaks to you, too.

I know you. I created you. I have loved you from your mother's womb. You have fled - as you now know from my love, but I love you nevertheless and not-the-less however far you flee. It is I who sustains your very power of fleeing, and I will never finally let you go. I accept you as you are. You are forgiven. I know all your sufferings. I have always known them. Far beyond your understanding, when you suffer, I suffer. I also know all your tricks by which you try to hide the ugliness you have made of your life from yourself and others. But you are beautiful. You are beautiful more deeply within than you can see. You are beautiful because you yourself, in the unique person that only you are, reflect already something of the beautiful also because I, and I alone, see the beauty you shall become. Through the transforming power of my love which is made perfect in weakness you shall become perfectly beautiful. You shall become perfectly beautiful. You shall become perfectly beautiful in a uniquely irreplaceable way, which neither you nor I will work out alone, for we shall work it out together.

Author Unknown

Pep Talk

Today I feel discouraged, a little down. So, I am giving myself the pep talk I would give to my best friend, if she needed it. Here goes:

This is a journey, and not a finish line event. You are letting go bad habits, while establishing good habits, with much prayer, thought and meditation. In the past, you have committed to this weight loss journey, and at the beginning, felt excited, expectant, full of faith. Now comes the drudgery, the middle that seems to stretch on forever, and yet, it is only perception of such. Just do the next right thing, and don't stress about tomorrow or next month.

Break the time down to manageable units that your mind can handle easily and not get so discouraged. If a day seems insurmountable, break it into small segments. Just think about getting through this morning, this next hour, this minute. Stay in the present moment and listen for that still voice within that has guided you so wisely to this point in time, to continue to gently guide you to the next right thing to do. Seek help from those who have your back, and remember, this too will pass. The discouragement will pass, if you do not hold onto it and clutch it to your chest like it is the truth. The truth is that you CAN do it. You have been doing it, you just need a shot of optimism.

I believe the truth that will set me free from the middle blues is this: God will never leave me or forsake me. He is as close as the very air I breath. So, breathe in air and imagine, that life giving oxygen is, in fact, God fanning the sparks of my faith into a motivating fire deep in the very heart of me and renewing my spirit to transform my drooping spirit into a firm commitment to not give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up.

Proverbs 16:3 guides me today. Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

I'm going to work now, with my preplanned and measured lunch of 3 oz. chicken breast, 1/2 c. brown rice and 1 c. green beans ready to nuke in the microwave. My temptation buster is an apple that I can quickly grab and eat when I need a pickmeup during the day. I have the evening meal defrosted. Pork loin, a large salad and asparagus is on the menu. I plan to take a walk later, too, to walk off calories and the days cares.

I commit this to the Lord, and now I will do my footwork and give the results to God.

I don't feel so stuck now. I feel hopeful. I am so glad I did not talk myself into giving up. I am learning to treat myself well, and to nurture myself, which is another good habit I've been working on, for I believe that as I let go bad habits and keep good habits, that all that good self care will start to melt the fat off my body. I won't need it anymore to feel bad about myself. One day at a time, I can do this.

So help me, God, I will not give up.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Now that the holidays are over and done with, I can finally come up for air and update this blog. The last two weeks of December was full of Christmas concerts at church and school, holiday feasting and we also had three family birthdays the last week or so of December. Whew! And that was before New Year's hit and all the bowl games, too!

Things have been quiet at our house, since I took my husband to the Dr. on Friday. He has gastro-enteritus, and the medicine that was prescribed makes him drowsy. He has been catching up on his sleep the past 3 days, which is probably just what he needed, anyway. He has really burnt the candle at both ends for the past two months, and even though he had the stomach virus twice during that period of time, he kept on working. There really wasn't much choice, since his boss is not in good health, so keeping things running falls heavily on him.

I am looking forward to the new year, and to getting back to a normal routine. I like the holidays, but, this past one felt stressful, to say the least. Life is busy enough, without adding all that extra stuff to do at Christmas. I really sound like a Scrooge, don't I? Is it possible to be just a half-Scrooge, I wonder? ;=)